


in the dying light

by HiddenObscurial



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Clone Traditions, Gen, Mando'a, Vode An, Wakes & Funerals, clone culture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:13:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24506722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HiddenObscurial/pseuds/HiddenObscurial
Summary: “Master? What’s going on?”“It’s something they do at the end of every mission,” Anakin says, and there’s a surge of emotion through their training bond. “To say goodbye to the troopers we’ve lost.”
Relationships: 501st Legion & CT-7567 | Rex, Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano
Comments: 6
Kudos: 105





	in the dying light

**Author's Note:**

> There’s some mando’a in this, all the translations that aren’t already written into the fic are in the notes at the end :)

When Ahsoka steps back into the main hanger, looking for Anakin, after finishing her meditation for the day, it’s unusually quiet. Normally, there’s at least twenty troopers milling about, making small repairs, or checking through their equipment. Now, there’s just two troopers - Jolt and Ghost, if she didn’t mix up the markings on their helmets; she’s still trying to learn all their names - standing guard at attention on either side of the main hanger doors. 

She hesitantly reaches out to Anakin through their bond - it’s only her second mission as a Padawan, the first after Christophsis. _Master? Where’s everyone? Where are you?_

 _I’m up on that cliff next to the base, come join me?_ Anakin replies. 

_Coming, master._

Jolt and Ghost snap a hand up to salute her as she walks out of the hanger doors. Even though Anakin seemed calm through their bond, the absence of the usual, constant buzz around the airbase feels almost eerie. She prays that nothing’s wrong as she climbs up the hill to meet him. 

There’s no moon on this planet, and the night is almost pitch black, save for the distant stars in the sky. As she gets to the top, she sees him sitting with his legs dangling over the edge of the cliff, looking out into the dark valley below. 

“Master?” She steps closer, and he looks up. 

“Hey, Snips,” he says, and pats the ground next to him. “Come sit?” 

As she approaches the edge of the cliff, she sees what he’s looking at. There’s hundreds of 501st troopers, almost the entire legion, standing in formation, helmets at their sides. In front of the troopers, a pile of wood - a pyre, she realises - stands unlit. She carefully lowers herself onto the edge of the cliff, sitting next to her master.

“What’s going on?” she asks, glancing at Anakin. 

When he turns to face her, he’s the most serious she’s ever seen him. 

“It’s something they do at the end of every mission,” he replies, and there’s a surge of emotion through their training bond. “To say goodbye to the troopers we’ve lost.”

They watch as Rex steps forward and lights the bonfire. 

“Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum.” Rex’s voice rings loud and clear in the cool night air. 

“That’s Mando’a. It means ‘I'm still alive, but you are dead; I remember you, so you are eternal’,” Anakin whispers beside her. 

Then, other voices ring out.

“Vy!”

“Boulder!”

“CT-2873!” 

“Pyth!” 

“CT-0121!”

“Jog!”

 _The names of fallen troopers,_ she realises. Her heart aches with loss, and then a bit more each time a number is called instead of a name. _Some of these clones had died without being here long enough to get a name._

A minute later, there’s silence again. The flicker of flames of the bonfire casts long shadows across the cliffs on either side of the valley as they watch the bonfire burn, smoke trailing up towards the night sky. Then, Rex breaks the silence once more. “Kote!” 

The troopers start singing together, voices firm and unwavering. 

_“Kandosii sa kar’ta, vode an._  
_Coruscanta a’den mhi, vode an._  
_Bal kote, darasuum kote._  
_Jorso’ran kando a tome._  
_Sa kyr’am nau tracyn kad, vode an!”_

Ahsoka barely understands the lyrics, but she recognises a few words in the Mando’a song, and she knows they are singing something about their brothers.

There’s a storm of emotion around Anakin, and she reaches over to squeeze his hand gently. The storm subsides, if only just a little.

“Nu kyr'adyc,” Rex says. 

“Shi taab'echaaj'la,” the troopers reply as one. 

“‘Not gone; merely marching far away’,” Anakin says softly. “They believe the dead will scout ahead for them; keep them safe.” 

Tears suddenly well up in her eyes at that. She knows that the dead all return to the Cosmic Force, but to hear that their men believe their brothers are all out there somewhere, protecting them... 

Anakin must have sensed her grief through their bond, as he puts his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer.

“Raysh’olan sol’yc, uur, solus ca’nara,” Rex says, and then it’s completely quiet.

 _A minute of silence,_ Anakin says through their bond. _Then we watch the pyre till it burns out._

The only sound that can be heard is the crackling of flames as the pyre burns bright, firelight light dancing across their faces. 

A few minutes pass, and then Anakin speaks. “It feels so unfair how these men have to die in a war they didn’t ask for, and still don’t get to be treated like proper beings by most people. If anything, they’re some of the best people I’ve met.” 

Ahsoka leans in closer and squeezes his hand again. “Things can change. They _will_ change. In time, people will see that too.”

Anakin glances down at her. “When were you the wise one? I’m supposed to be the master here,” he says, teasing. 

Ahsoka smiles back at him, then turns back to watch the pyre as the flames start to slowly fade.

War is a terrifying, horrible thing, Ahsoka thinks. But in the dying light of the pyre, with Anakin’s arm tucked around her shoulders, she knows she’s be in good hands, and she knows she’ll do as much as she possibly can to keep these men safe. 

**Author's Note:**

> The song they sing is called Vode An:
> 
> Glory!  
> One indomitable heart, Brothers all.  
> We, the wrath of Coruscant, Brothers all.  
> And glory, eternal glory,  
> We shall bear its weight together.  
> Forged like the saber in the fires of death, Brothers all.
> 
> Raysh’olan sol’yc, uur, solus ca’nara - 501st, a moment of silence. (I took some liberty with this one, “ca’nara” means ‘time’ but I couldn’t find the word for ‘moment’)
> 
> Hope you enjoyed :)


End file.
